The present invention relates to a weather strip for movable roofs such as vehicle sunroofs and moonroofs.
FIG. 6 shows a typical movable roof, or sliding roof 51. The sliding roof 51 is formed in a ceiling 50 of a vehicle such as an automobile. A weather strip 52 is attached to the periphery of the sliding roof 51. The weather strip 52 seals the clearance between the sliding roof 51 and the opening thereby preventing rain from entering the passenger compartment. The weather strip 52 also prevents air from flowing through the clearance between the sliding roof 51 and the opening.
In the past, sliding roofs were made of inorganic glass. Recently, to reduce the weight, organic glass such as polycarbonate is used to form sliding roofs. The sliding roof 51 includes an organic glass plate 53.
The organic glass plate 53 expands and shrinks in accordance with the temperature. Thus, if the weather strip 52 is adhered to the plate 53 with adhesive, temperature changes deform the sliding roof 51 due to the fact that the parts have different coefficients of thermal linear expansion of the glass plate 53.
Therefore, a sliding roof 54 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 has been introduced. The sliding roof 54 includes a slide panel 55, an organic glass plate 53 and a weather strip 56. The glass plate 53 is fixed to the upper surface of the slide panel 55 by adhesive 57. The weather strip 56 is engaged with the periphery of the glass plate 53. A cover lip 58 extends inward and contacts the upper surface of the glass plate 53 without adhesive in between. The glass plate 53 can be moved relative to the cover lip 58. A space S is defined between the weather strip 56 and the periphery of the glass plate 53. When the glass plate 53 expands due to a temperature change, the space S accommodates the expansion.
The weather strip 56 is formed by extrusion molding and injection molding. First, the weather strip 56 is linearly extruded by extruder. The extruded weather strip 56 has the cover lip 58 and a base 59 as shown in FIG. 7. Then, the weather strip 56 is bent at corner portions, one of which is shown in FIG. 8. At this time, the base 59 is cut off at corner portions. New bases 59 (the cross hatched portion in FIG. 8) are then formed by injection molding at the corner portions.
The cover lip 58 and the periphery of the glass plate 53 are not adhered to each other by adhesive. Thus, foreign matter such as mud and water can enter the space S between the cover lip 58 and the glass plate 53. The foreign matter remains in the space S.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a weather strip for movable roofs that discharges foreign matter trapped in the space between the weather strip and the organic glass plate in a movable roof.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a weather strip. The weather strip is attached to the periphery of an organic glass plate. The organic glass plate is supported by a support frame. A passage permits foreign matter trapped in a space to discharge from the space. The space is defined between the weather strip and an end face of the periphery of the organic glass plate. The space accommodates thermal expansion of the organic glass plate.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.